Bouldering meet 1/2/3th March CANCELLED

[Dave Flanagan]

Hut is booked for meet for 1/2/3th March. Is anyone going?

[Paul Brennan]

I'll be there. Ankle will probably still be too knackered to climb, but the meet is always fun

[Dave Flanagan]

I have cancelled the meet. I had neglected my publicity duties and I reckoned the turn out was going to be very low. Plus another group wanted the hut so I felt cancelling was the best option.
Sorry to those who would of come, of course you can still go bouldering in Wicklow that weekend.

There have been 9 meets.  The first two (2004,2005) were really amazing, and, in retrospect, it was inevitable that those that followed didn't match them. A lot of the attendees of the early meets have moved on with careers, family, kids and for the most part the younger generation haven't bought in. The eight of us who spent an amazing spring day in Lough Dan last year on the Sunday witnessed the final chapter.

Thanks to everyone who, over the years, made the effort to come along, I hope you enjoyed yourself, I know I did.

[Dave Flanagan]

[richard]

Sad to hear it Dave.

[Stephen McMullan]

Sorry to hear it Dave. Organising events takes effort and time. In my experience attendance hangs on publicity and you have to keep pushing to get numbers. Maybe it could be rescheduled if someone steps up to share the load. I'm still organising (dive) events but I had to offload IBL and even notices on climbing.ie are suffering at the min for this very reason. I just didn't have the time...

[Dave Flanagan]

To be honest the meet doesn't require much effort or time. It's just a matter of booking the hut well in advance, designing a poster and sending a few email and posting on a few forums.


I haven't cancelled the meet because I'm not prepared to put in the effort, I have cancelled it because it seems to me that there is very little interest in it. The phrase flogging a dead horse springs to mind.

[Kevin K]

I attended the meet in 2009 & 2010 and had a great time. I haven't attended since due to various excuses on my behalf. I'm sorry to see it go but I understand the decision.

Thanks for all the hard work Dave. It is appreciated and I hope you don't feel too discouraged by this.

[Patrick Stewart]

Sorry to hear it Dave. I really enjoyed the last couple of years so thanks! I think it's a shame that there won't be an inclusive, open meet this year. Can't really understand lack of interest when I see so many people bouldering in Inchicore/Awesome all the time, and there's a reasonably well-attended competition series in the country. but perhaps it's not well-defined and clear what the added value is of the meet for people who haven't gone before vs. picking up the guide and getting out to the hills for the day. People seem  to prefer staying in their own circles tbh but surely two days and a night a year is good to break out and make new connections, see some old faces?

[Stephen McMullan]

I haven't cancelled the meet because I'm not prepared to put in the effort, I have cancelled it because it seems to me that there is very little interest in it. The phrase flogging a dead horse springs to mind.

No offence Dave but what you've said there could be a symptom of being jaded. I know because I've said it myself over things I've organised in the past but really it was me. I've thought it about all sorts of things like the website, IBL, MI etc etc when things look bleak e.g. little level of interest or poor attendances etc. I don't blame people en-masse - they are creatures of unpredictable habits. When you're sliding down a slope on an event you have to change the format, start thinking about what could be popular etc. and if you can't come up with anything then get some fresh eyes in to help and take it in a new direction. Every organiser has a limited "lifetime" after which it is advisable to get out.

I know you shouldn't have to go to all this bloody effort because its amazing that someone would organise a bouldering meet in the first place and its hard to accept non-interest but its a fact of the world we live in these days that there are more choices available than ever before and you have to compete for attention with all the other easy options out there. On my darkest days I think "feck the lot of them" - see how they get on without websites, meets, guidebooks, training venues etc etc - will anyone give a damn? if there were none of these things would anyone step forward and start them up from scratch again? I'm sure they would but some days its feels like they would not....


Don't be afraid to lend a hand folks. The heartbreak of every organiser, no matter what it is, is perceived apathy.

[Paul Brennan]

Bummer. I can see your point though Dave. Could you answer something thats been bugging me for years though....where the f&*$ is that hold on the '08 poster?

[Stephen McMullan]

It's still my favourite poster

[Dave Flanagan]

Sorry to hear it Dave. I really enjoyed the last couple of years so thanks! I think it's a shame that there won't be an inclusive, open meet this year. Can't really understand lack of interest when I see so many people bouldering in Inchicore/Awesome all the time, and there's a reasonably well-attended competition series in the country. but perhaps it's not well-defined and clear what the added value is of the meet for people who haven't gone before vs. picking up the guide and getting out to the hills for the day. People seem  to prefer staying in their own circles tbh but surely two days and a night a year is good to break out and make new connections, see some old faces?

Spot on Patrick, I agree with every word.

[Dave Flanagan]

Bummer. I can see your point though Dave. Could you answer something thats been bugging me for years though....where the f&*$ is that hold on the '08 poster?

It's the starting hold the traverse at Hobbiton in Cloghogue.

[Dave Flanagan]

I haven't cancelled the meet because I'm not prepared to put in the effort, I have cancelled it because it seems to me that there is very little interest in it. The phrase flogging a dead horse springs to mind.

No offence Dave but what you've said there could be a symptom of being jaded. I know because I've said it myself over things I've organised in the past but really it was me. I've thought it about all sorts of things like the website, IBL, MI etc etc when things look bleak e.g. little level of interest or poor attendances etc. I don't blame people en-masse - they are creatures of unpredictable habits. When you're sliding down a slope on an event you have to change the format, start thinking about what could be popular etc. and if you can't come up with anything then get some fresh eyes in to help and take it in a new direction. Every organiser has a limited "lifetime" after which it is advisable to get out.

I know you shouldn't have to go to all this bloody effort because its amazing that someone would organise a bouldering meet in the first place and its hard to accept non-interest but its a fact of the world we live in these days that there are more choices available than ever before and you have to compete for attention with all the other easy options out there. On my darkest days I think "feck the lot of them" - see how they get on without websites, meets, guidebooks, training venues etc etc - will anyone give a damn? if there were none of these things would anyone step forward and start them up from scratch again? I'm sure they would but some days its feels like they would not....

None taken. The meet from the very beginning represented a specifc idea - that of gathering together lots of boulderers for a weekend and bouldering and hanging out in the hut. That idea appealed to many at the start but clearly doesn't anymore, I have no interested in changing the format, it is what it is (or in this this case 'is not what it is''). If people aren't interested that is fine but for a few years now the meet was below critical mass and had run out of steam, I see no point to drag it out. If something rises out of the ashes, then great, I will give it my full support.

Unlike you, I do blame people en-masse, I don't blame them as individuals but I don't see how the majority of people expect to only take and never give. Climber's are pretty selfish.